Rock Band 3: Where Do We Go From Here?

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Three ways Harmonix can revolutionize the music genre once again.

By Hilary Goldstein

If 2009 NPD sales data is any indication, consumers are growing tired of buying plastic instruments to fake play in a band. With the threat of declining sales in 2010 and the short attention span of gamers an ever-present issue, something needs to change or music games will quickly fall out of favor. Either Activision or Harmonix needs to take a risk. And no, putting out a game starring punk-gone-pop band Green Day is not exactly taking a gamble and progressing the music game genre.

Harmonix helped reshape the genre twice, first with Guitar Hero and then with Rock Band. Don't scoff at the significance of the latter. Rock Band not only popularized getting the entire family in front of the TV and rocking out on drums, guitar, bass and mic, but it remains at the forefront in the digital distribution revolution. Harmonix promised and delivered new downloadable songs every week for more than two years, with more than a thousand songs now available. If any company is going to do something revolutionary, I'd put my money on the little-developer-that-could from Boston.

But where can Harmonix take Rock Band 3 that would breathe life into the music genre? Here are three big changes that could (and should) happen with the next version of the series.

Teach Me Something

I taught myself how to play the guitar in college. I learned just enough to convince half-drunk sorority girls that I was sensitive. Knowing the basics, I can tell you that there's not a whole lot in common between playing a real guitar and the hunk of plastic that ships with Rock Band. I doubt anyone could become an expert at Rock Band and then pick up a real guitar for the first time with any hope of playing a song. I've also never known anyone to become a better singer wailing out the vocals in Rock Band. And though the drums can definitely teach you some fundamentals, it's not an accurate representation of a real drum kit.

There is no question that someone could make a game with more realistic instruments that would actually teach people how to play. But can Harmonix make one that is affordable? There is also the concern of balancing tutorial with "game." Harmonix has done its job if it can create a game that teaches you without the player even realizing they are a student. In other words, the bonus for mastering Rock Band 3 is that you've also mastered how to play an instrument.

This idea isn't farfetched. Recently, Dhani Harrison, son of The Beatles' George Harrison, said that he was hard at work on the next Rock Band and that he was "making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game." But he also stated that he didn't think it would be done for a few years. Dream bigger and faster, Dhani!

Own a track

The iPod won the MP3 wars with a brilliant marketing slogan: "1000 songs in your pocket." Rock Band's digital library could now fill that original iPod to the brim. The only problem is that, currently, gamers only buy the rights to play the song in the game. A user's rights to a song end the moment Rock Band is turned off. That has to end. When I buy a track from the Rock Band 3 store, I need to own all digital forms. That means having it both as a playable song in all versions of Rock Band (including the iPhone version) and having it download to the MP3-player of my choice to listen to when I please.

Breaking down this barrier could prove immensely profitable for both Rock Band 3 publisher MTV Games and the music industry. Currently, Rock Band's digital store does a nice job exposing would-be musicians to artists, but there's no up-sell at all. You can't, for example, get a taste of the new Weezer and in the same store purchase the full album. Imagine if the first single off the next Weezer album were released to the Rock Band store. I buy the single for $2, allowing me to play it with my fake plastic instrument or to listen to it on my iPod. But there's also an option to purchase the full album if I like what I hear. Or perhaps I buy the latest Killers album and receive a code that downloads its tracks for use in Rock Band 3.

Build Your Own Library Why am I paying for songs I don't like? Rock Band 2 shipped with more than 80 tracks, but they weren't 80 songs I would have selected. Does your iPod come pre-loaded with tracks from bands you've never heard of and couldn't care less about? Of course not. If Harmonix wants to change the genre, it needs to see Rock Band 3 as a music platform, no different than an MP3 player or a blank CD. Sure, you can put in 10-20 default tracks just to get me started, but beyond that, the choice of what exists in my library should be mine and mine alone.

This means that Rock Band 3 must have a robust library of tracks ready for download from day one. The success of iTunes has shown there is great power in allowing people to pick and choose the songs they want. Being able to cherry pick songs from albums didn't destroy the music industry, it brought it into a new age where the listener holds the power. And that power didn't inhibit what they purchased; it increased the amount of music people bought.

MTV and Harmonix have been tight-lipped about Rock Band 3, so it's anyone's guess what the sequel might offer. If Harmonix can manage to incorporate these three ideas, then it will undoubtedly push the music genre in a new and exciting direction.